An HISD elementary school principal has been charged with theft, accused of shoplifting two boxes of Christmas ornaments from a mall, according to court records.

Tammie Daily, the principal of Shadydale Elementary, has been reassigned off campus following her arrest, the Houston Independent School District said Tuesday.

Daily's attorney, Chip Lewis, said the 52-year-old educator put the ornaments in a shopping bag to protect them while browsing Macy's at Memorial City Mall on Sunday and forgot to pay.

Mall officials tracked down Daily at another department store, Lewis said, and she paid immediately.

"She did not intend at all to steal anything and was mortified when (the Houston Police Department) showed up to arrest her," Lewis said. He characterized the incident as "a mistake that any of us could make, especially in the shopping season."

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HISD said in a statement Tuesday that Daily reported the arrest to her supervisor as required by district policy.

Daily, who has worked in HISD for about two decades, became the principal of Shadydale Elementary this year. The campus formerly was part of the troubled North Forest school district until the state ordered HISD to assume control this summer.

HISD touted Daily and the other new North Forest principals in a June news release, noting that Daily previously won a regional principal of the year award.

Assistant Principal Yvonne Saravia has been placed in charge of Shadydale, according to an automated message that HISD sent to parents Tuesday.